We've all seen how quickly flooding can turn lives upside down - from blocked roads to heartbreaking damage and homes destroyed.
Rain levels in Autumn/Winter 2023-4 devasted homes and farmland, as we experienced the country's most active storm season since records began. I visited some of the worst affected villages such as Stonton Wyville, Greatford, Whitwell and Whissendine and brought the Flooding Minister to Tallington and Oakham to meet residents and farmers.
Since then, it has been really positive to see the great progress made in some communities who have taken forward initiatives we discussed last year, and have made their villages more flood resilient.
I recently held my annual Flooding Summits, bringing together Parish Councils, the Environment Agency and local Resilience Teams from Leicestershire and Lincolnshire Councils. My team and I are now working to get action delivered that residents need to help mitigate and avoid damaging floods in the future.
